Tears of a Clown

by MB Mulhall

  “Why did you do that?!” Mandy hissed. “Don’t you realize you just signed your own death warrant?” Darcy shrugged.

  “Par for the course today,” she said leaving her stunned step-sister behind as she entered the room.

  “Nice of you to decide to join us Darcy,” Mr. Murphy the homeroom teacher said giving her a look full of disdain.

  “Sorry, had troubles getting my locker open.”

  “Since you’re new, we’ll let it slide…this time. Next time you get marked tardy,” the teacher said before looking back down at his paper. Her classmates all snickered at the word tardy. Darcy rolled her eyes and headed to an empty seat at the back of the room.

  Of course as soon as she sat down, the bell rang. The students surged forward and she found herself caught in the flow once again. Thankfully she was able to break free of the pack and make it to her science class long before the bell rang.

  She nodded a greeting to the teacher and hurried back to her lab table. Keeping an eye on the door, Darcy hoped that Dick wouldn’t make it to class. She knew she would have to deal with his wrath at some point, but she crossed her fingers that it wouldn’t be anytime soon. Tugging her sleeve up, she saw the ugly bruise that was already forming on her upper arm. There’d be no wearing short sleeves anytime soon.

  “Hey, what happened to your arm?” Darcy looked up into Chaz’s concerned eyes. She shoved the sleeve down and looked away.

  “Nothing. I’m just clumsy.” He walked around her and set his books down on the table top.

  “Walk into a doorknob?” he asked picking up the hem of her sleeve. Darcy jerked her arm away like a flame licking her skin.

  “Hey! Don’t just go trying to look up someone’s shirt!” Heads turned to look at them and she dropped her voice. “Seriously, it’s nothing.”

  “Considering how red it looked, you must have just done it,” Chaz said, folding his arms across his chest.

  “Please, just drop it, all right?” She gave her version of the pout and puppy dog eyes, but she must have looked ridiculous since Chaz moved his hand to unsuccessfully cover his chuckle.”

  “All right. I’ll drop it…for now, but tell me later?” She sighed.

  “Fine. Fine. Whatever it takes to make you shut up about it.” Chaz smirked, triumphant with his win. He’d get his answer eventually.

  She continued to watch the door and let out a sigh of relief when the late bell rang and still there was no Rich. Hopefully that meant she lucked out for the moment.

  The teacher looked around.

  “Where’s Rich?” she asked. “I know he’s here today.”

  “I heard he’s in the nurse’s office. There was some…freak incident this morning,” one of his teammates said throwing Darcy a nasty look.

  “Oh, is he alright?” the teacher inquired.

  “He will be, but I can’t say the same for some other people,” the guy said, giving Darcy another pointed look. The teacher caught the transaction.

  “Something going on I should know about Darcy?” she asked, eyebrows raised.

  “Nothing important ma’am. I was just trying to help with some population control,” Darcy said. The teacher’s face scrunched up in confusion.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “She kneed him in the balls Mrs. White,” the teammate spoke up.

  “Assholes like him shouldn’t reproduce. I was doing the world a favor,” Darcy retorted. Mrs. White groaned and ran a hand down her face.

  “Darcy, you know I’m going to have to send you to the principal’s office for that. You can’t go around assaulting other students.”

  “Ha! They’re going to kick your freak ass out Bozo,” the guy said.

  “Language, James!” Mrs. White called out. James shut up but smirked at Darcy.

  “Mrs. White,” Chaz suddenly spoke up.

  “Yes Chaz, you have something to add?” Darcy looked at him, eyes wide and shook her head slightly. He patted her knee under the table.

  “I think Darcy may have been defending herself. She has bruises on her arm.” Darcy face-palmed herself. She really didn’t want it all getting out. It was only going to cause more trouble in the long run.

  “Is that true Darcy?” Mrs. White asked pushing away from her desk to come stand in front of their lab table.

  “It’s nothing really,” Darcy mumbled.

  “Let’s see. Roll up your sleeves, please, both of them.” Mrs. White stared Darcy down until she felt compelled to follow orders. Seeing no way out, Darcy shoved both sleeves up. She heard Chaz’s sharp intake of air when he got a good look at her arms. They were already turning vivid shades of black and blue with red ringed edges. The obvious outline of fingers could be seen on her pale flesh.

  “Did Richard do this to you Darcy?” Mrs. White asked her voice low and tight. Darcy bit her lip, not wanting to admit it. She knew he deserved to get in trouble for it, but the more attention brought to herself, the worse the payback was going to be. Not to mention she didn’t know if Mandy wanted word getting out about why things happened in the first place.

  Mrs. White stood for a moment, watching Darcy, who was staying silent and avoiding eye contact.

  “Chaz, would you take Darcy down to the office so she can explain her side of the story please?” He nodded and hurriedly shoved his books in his bag.

  “Come on Darcy,” he said picking up her bag for her. Wordlessly she stood and followed him to the door, the eyes of her classmates burning holes into her back.

  Once they were out in the hall, Chaz led her around the corner and leaned against the wall, keeping her from walking ahead.

  “What?” she asked peevishly.

  “How about telling me what really happened before we get down there?” he asked crossing his arms over his chest again, both book bags hanging off of one broad shoulder.

  Darcy looked down at her shoes. Chaz seemed like the kind of guy who would want to fight for justice and peace and ridiculous garbage like that. She was worried if she told him the truth; he might go off and try to do something stupid, like attempt to beat Dick up. While Chaz seemed like an in shape guy, that other dude had muscles on top of muscles. She’d feel awful if the kid got his ass handed to him because of her. Darcy figured it would be safest for all involved to just play stupid and give attitude. Push people away so they wouldn’t get hurt due to her actions.

  “How about minding your own damn business?” Darcy said bringing her chin up and glaring at the gorgeous boy in front of her. “Why did you have to say anything? I told you it was nothing and yet you had to go shooting off your damn mouth. Thanks for nothing.”

  She pushed past him, hoping to get away before the tears she felt forming made an appearance. His hand shot out to grab her wrist.

  “I don’t understand. I thought we were becoming friends. Friends look out for each other,” he said looking hurt. It broke her heart. She turned away from his piercing gaze and tried to wrench her hand out of his grasp.

  “You trying to leave your mark too?” she snarled. Chaz dropped her hand like a hot potato.

  “Sorry! I didn’t mean t-”

  “Just keep your hands to yourself and leave me alone!” Darcy grabbed her bag that had slid down his arm when he dropped her hand. She stormed off down the hall, leaving a hurt and bewildered Chaz in her wake. Hopefully she was mean enough that he’d leave her alone, at least until the whole mess blew over and it would be safe to try to establish a friendship again. She hoped that day would come; otherwise the rest of the year was going to be a long and lonely one.

  Dread toiling in the pit of her stomach, Darcy sluggishly pushed open the glass door leading to the school’s inner sanctum, the front office. Cheery Mrs. Peaches greeted her with a smile.

  “Well hello dear! What can I do for you?”

  “Mrs. White sent me here to talk to the principal,” Darcy said unable to look the old lady in the face.

  “I see.” Mrs. Peaches patted Darcy’s hand. “Why don’
t you have a seat and I’ll let him know you’re here darlin’.”

  Darcy squeezed into one of the tiny uncomfortable chairs to await her fate. Mrs. Peaches had picked up the phone but Darcy tuned her out while biding her time.

  She wished she had her MP3 player with her. Some ICP would sooth her jangled nerves. Looking out the door, Darcy saw Chaz hovering in the hallway. Her head dropped and she looked away. Couldn’t he take a hint? She thought telling him to leave her alone was pretty straight forward. Would she have to spell it out for him? She hated spelling.

  “Dear? Hello, Darcy dear?” Mrs. Peaches’ call broke Darcy out of her haze. She turned to face the old lady.

  “Mr. Janson is just finishing up a call hon. He’ll be with you in a tic’.” Darcy bobbed her head. Mrs. Peaches clucked loudly.

  “Oh child, you look like someone popped all your balloon animals. Whatever the reason is for you being here, it’s not the end of the world. Like my dear momma used to say, rest her soul, being sad is as useful as a pogo stick in quicksand. So put on a happy face! ...Well, I suppose you’ve done that, now haven’t you? What I mean, is a real smile under that paint would do you a world of good girl. I want to see y’all happier than a fat tick on a dog.”

  Darcy couldn’t help but break into a grin at the secretary’s ludicrous sayings.

  “There you are! That just dills my pickle darlin’. You keep that up for me.”

  Darcy shook her head but the smile stayed. She wondered what else was in the teachings of Mrs. Peaches, perhaps something about sex on the beaches? Darcy snorted loudly as she tried to stifle a laugh. The two Peaches, old proper southern belle and the raunchy electronica musician, couldn’t be more dissimilar, but at least it gave her a laugh.

  Her jovial mood was cut short as she saw Rich limping up the hallway, Chaz stepping away from the wall to confront him. Darcy raised half out of her seat, trying to see better. Her heart began beating loudly in her chest. Inwardly, she cursed Chaz. Why couldn’t he just walk away? If he started something, her little show earlier would have been for nothing.

  “Ms. McDillion?” Darcy almost fell out of the chair when her name was called from across the room. She turned and saw a very large, very unhappy looking man with several chins and a bad comb over glaring at her with beady little piggy eyes. Of course Mr. Janson would be the sourest looking, and probably smelling, man ever. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, in through her nose, Darcy braced herself for whatever was to come.

  “Time is precious here Ms. McDillion. Please get a move on.” Darcy stood and stepped forward, her bag trailing behind her.

  “Smile!” Mrs. Peaches feigned a whisper. Darcy ignored her this time. She took one last fleeting glance out the glass door to where the two guys were facing off before following Mr. Janson into his office.

  “Take a seat Ms. McDillion.”

  Darcy plopped heavily in one of the two seats in front of the monstrous desk. She decided Mr. Janson needed such a humongous desk because anything smaller would have looked comical in front of his immense girth. His chair creaked loud in protest as he settled into it. She felt bad for the piece of furniture. It would probably live a very short life.

  On his desk were several official looking stamps, a shiny brass name plate, a family photo, in which it was obvious that sadly, the children took after their father and a big shiny red phone. As she stared at it, one of the buttons on the bottom started blinking. Darcy wondered if the commissioner was calling, or maybe someone was sending a message in Morse Code: W-a-r-n-i-n-g-c-l-o-w-n-s-t-a-s-t-e-f-u-n-n-y-d-o-n-o-t-c-o-n-s-u-m-e.

  Mr. Janson kept his gaze focused on her while reaching for the phone. He brought the receiver to his ear and listened for a second before barking out a command.

  “Send him in.”

  Shit. I hope it’s not Rich. Darcy was itching to glance over her shoulder when she heard the door knob turn and click. When she did see who it was, Darcy decided she would rather be on her knees begging for the dick’s forgiveness rather than deal with the person who came into the room like a rolling thunder cloud.

  “Thank you for coming on such short notice, Mr. McDillion. Please have a seat,” Mr. Janson gestured for Darcy’s dad to take the empty chair next to her.

  “Of course.” Her dad sat down without looking at her.

  Mr. Janson folded his hands over his protruding gut.

  “Now then Darcy, why don’t you tell us why you’re here, hmm?” the principal suggested.

  Darcy narrowed her eyes. She didn’t like the man already.

  “I assume you know why I’m here, otherwise you wouldn’t have bothered to call my dad.”

  “Darcy,” her father warned, “just answer the man.” She flicked her gaze over to her dad. He looked tired and sad. She felt a twinge of guilt for how she was about to act, but she had no choice. She shrugged her shoulders, a very nonchalant action.

  “I kneed some guy in the balls.”

  Darcy suppressed a grin as both men visibly cringed at her words.

  “Not just some guy Mr. McDillion, but our star quarter back, Richard Miles, who has a homecoming game to win in two weeks.”

  “No need to worry Mr. Janson. I’m sure the swelling in his junk will go down by then. I can’t say the same for his ego though.”

  “Darcy!” her father bellowed. She rolled her eyes but shut her mouth. Mr. Janson cleared his throat loudly to reclaim order.

  “As the principal of this fine institution, I’m sure you understand we can’t turn a blind eye when one student assaults another.”

  “Of course not Mr. Janson,” Darcy’s dad said politely.

  “We normally have a no tolerance policy on violence, but since Darcy is new here, we will let it slide with two days suspension, starting immediately. She is to stay off of school property until Monday, September 25th. If she’s caught on school grounds during that time, the police will be involved for trespassing and we may have to remove her from the school permanently.”

  Darcy thought the punishment harsh, but bit her tongue. She wondered if Rich would just get a slap on the wrist. It was funny how no one asked why she had hurt him. Did she look like violent type? Maybe Mr. Janson saw Killer Clowns from Outer Space one too many times.

  “That seems more than fair, Mr. Janson. I appreciate you giving her a second chance,” Darcy’s dad was saying. Mr. Janson gave him a very fake smile.

  “Of course, Mr. McDillion. We all know how hard it is to adjust to a new environment. I’m sure after this incident; Darcy will be one of our star students.”

  “I’m sure,” Darcy said under her breath. Her father glared at her. If looks could kill, Mr. Janson would be dialing up the morgue on the shiny red Bat phone, pronto.

  Her dad stood and shook the principal’s hand and apologized for his daughter’s behavior. Darcy ignored them both and headed for the door.

  Sitting on opposite sides of the room, Rich and Chaz turned to look at her when she exited the office. Chaz started to stand, but Darcy pointedly ignored him. Rich lounged in the chair, legs stretched out in front of him. No way was she stepping over those limbs. Not unless she wanted her face to meet the floor, again.

  Stopping in front of him, her dad on her heels, she looked him in the eye. Her gaze traveled to his legs and back to his face, raising an eyebrow.

  “Problem?” he asked. Darcy shrugged.

  “Nah, not really. I was just thinking about how if I tripped trying to climb over you, my elbow would probably end up in your crotch. Sure I’d save myself from falling, but I might really hurt my elbow since there’s not a lot of padding down there. Ever hit your funny bone? It’s so not funny. I bet you wouldn’t find it too funny either.”

  Rich abruptly sat up and pulled his legs in, crossing his ankles. Her dad put a hand on her back and propelled her forward, keeping an eye on the angry teen with smoke coming out his ears.

  They made it out of the school successfully before Darcy’s dad grabbed her by the wrist and pull
ed her toward the car.

  “You are in a world of trouble young lady. You better be prepared to paint on some tears because you’re going to be crying by the time I’m done with you.” For the second time that day, she had to pull her hand out of someone else’s grasp.

  “Shows what you know. There are no sad clowns. We just smile through the pain and then snap when you least expect it,” Darcy said getting into her dad’s truck. She slammed the door hard enough to make the Dalmatian bobblehead on the dash nod wildly. At least someone agreed with her.

  The ride home was filled with uncomfortable silence, punctuated only by the occasional sigh and her father’s aggressive gear shifting. Darcy was surprised the stick didn’t break off in his hand.

  Two days of suspension. Like that was such a big deal. She didn’t understand why he was so upset over it. Despite her looks and her mouth, she stayed out of trouble for the most part. Staying out of trouble in Georgia would have been easy, if that ass could have kept his hands off her step-sister.

  Darcy was used to the name calling and the pranks, but she abhorred seeing someone else get bullied or harassed, even if it was someone she wasn’t especially fond of. Mandy certainly wasn’t friend number one, nor was she enemy number one. She was family, whether either of them liked it or not. That meant Darcy came to her defense if she needed it, and she definitely looked like she needed it in that stair well. Whether or not Mandy appreciated all Darcy was going through because of it didn’t matter. Doing what was right was the important thing.

  She was jerked forward when her father slammed on the brakes and put the truck in park. They were home. He got out without a word and headed inside, slamming doors along the way. Two could play that game, but Darcy found she was emotionally drained from the whole ordeal. Better to just creep inside and up to her room where she could lose herself in the dark comfort of her room and her music.

  Stealthy, like a ninja, Darcy slunk into the front hall. With one foot poised above the first step, she heard her father bellow from the kitchen.